


indecent exposure

by myshkaa



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Crack, Fluff, Lingerie, M/M, Miscommunication, Misunderstandings, could be read as dachvist too, dachqvist?, gethawksdeep’s Blackhawks Kink Meme, poor jonny, pre-covid19
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-19
Packaged: 2021-03-14 13:09:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28546140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/myshkaa/pseuds/myshkaa
Summary: He could see it in Duncs’ shifty eyes, the awkward smile plastered on his face, the way he constantly shifted his weight from one foot to the other. Duncs knew.And he knew that Jonny knew that he knew. Fuck.In which Jonny struggles to keep his sanity, Kirby and Adam try their best, and Patrick is just along for the ride.****Based on the gethawksdeep prompt: "Patrick kane/ jonathan toews ... established relationship, one of the guys on the team sees Johnny buying lingerie and assumes he's buying it for a woman and is cheating on Patrick, except the lingerie was for Patrick. The other player starts treating Johnny like crap and tells other players what he saw, and this all culminates into a big reveal where Patrick and johnnys bedroom activities are revealed in the most embarrassing way (mwahahaha)"
Relationships: Duncan Keith/Brent Seabrook, Patrick Kane/Jonathan Toews
Comments: 37
Kudos: 88





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I... don't have an excuse for this other than the fact that I saw this prompt and _needed_ to see it to its completion. Procrastination and overall Life leads to this being published more than a year after its initial creation (and it's not even finished yet), but oh well. The time feels right.
> 
> ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> And as always, a very special thank you to [dauhu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dauhu) for beta-ing and being my rock <3

Jonathan Toews was sweating. Hardcore.

The only thing he could focus on was Duncs’ voice in the other room, chatting away to Seabs on the phone as he opened a laptop. Jonny’s laptop, to be exact. The same laptop that he had previously used last night to order…  _ something _ . For Patrick.

It was an off day, and Duncs had come over to discuss the upcoming bye week. Jonny had told him that he was planning an excursion to Hawaii, and Duncs had wanted to know more about his previous trip to Peru. He had agreed and told Duncs to fire up his laptop, which still had his old travel itinerary on it, while he made them lunch. But when he thought about it more — had he closed the tab? 

Jonny put his protein shake down and braced himself on the counter for Duncs to say something. Anything. Exactly what, he didn’t know. 

“Yeah so are we thinking of bringing—”

A pause. Fuck.

“Uhh… sorry yeah, so are we thinking of bringing the dogs? I don’t know if… okay yeah that’s what I thought. Thanks babe, love you.” He ended the call. Doom was surely to follow

“Hey Taze?” Duncs called. Jonny tensed like a deer in headlights, eyes glued blindly on the cup in front of him. He could feel heat rushing to his head, flushing his cheeks and making his mind spin. Duncs knew. He would tell everyone, it would be leaked to the media, the whole world would know that Jonathan Toews ordered a-

“Dude, are you okay?” Duncs came into the kitchen while Jonny was hurtling through the stages of panic, just in time to witness the fourth: lame excuses.

“Uh, yeah, sorry. I’m good. This shake is just… it’s really something.”   
  
Duncs eyed the untouched cup on the counter. “Uh, sure. Thanks for letting me borrow your laptop. I emailed the itinerary to myself, if that’s okay.”

There was something in his voice that caused Jonny to tear his eyes away from the cup to meet Duncs’. He was aware that he was still braced over the counter and probably looked like a madman, but only one thought cycled through his fevered brain.

He could see it in Duncs’ shifty eyes, the awkward smile plastered on his face, the way he constantly shifted his weight from one foot to the other. Duncs knew. 

_ And  _ he knew that Jonny knew that he knew. Fuck.

“That’s fine.” Jonny finally answered. He straightened stiffly, hands fisted so tightly his knuckles were white on the counter, and offered up a strained grimace in response. He wanted to put as much distance as possible between himself and whatever trainwreck was happening at the moment. Could he survive a drop to the street from this floor? He eyed the window as subtly as possible. 

They stood there for a little bit, stuck in a standoff of Canadian politeness and not wanting to bring up the massive, massive elephant in the room. The tension spiraled higher and higher, a loaded spring ready to snap. Duncs broke the silence. 

“So.. I have to go. Lots of stuff to do. Y’know.” Nevermind the fact that he just got here. He gestured vaguely behind him and walked backwards a little, towards the front door. Jonny wasn’t going to complain.

“Okay. Yeah, that’s—good idea.” he followed Duncs closely (maybe a little too closely), herding him as efficiently as possible towards the front door. But before Duncs could be crowded out of the apartment entirely, he turned around, shoes in hand, and asked a question that made Jonny regret his whole life.

“You and Kaner. Are you guys... okay?”

Maybe he would still jump out of the window. Just to end his suffering.

“We’re fine, thank you.” The grimace returned in full force. Duncs scanned Jonny’s face before hesitantly nodding.

“Good,” Duncs put on his shoes, “That’s good.”   


And with that, he left. Jonny leaned against the front door after he closed it and heaved a full-body sigh of relief that sent him sliding a ways down. 

This lingerie better be worth it.

****

The thing is, Jonny knew that hockey players had little to no boundaries as it were. The group chat was a primo example of free-range hockey bro banter; if you mention that you’re going on a date, you’ll be flooded with unsolicited advice arguing over exactly which pair of pants you own makes your ass look the best (Jonny had given up when Patrick chimed in with “nothing” and a winking emoji). Cuddle piles and ass taps galore. As Jonny retreated back to the kitchen, still dazed by what he had just endured, he thought about where the line in the sand was drawn. Where the boundaries started. And as he resumed his previous position, hunched over his counter, he concluded that he drew the line precisely at knowing that your teammate wears lingerie for your captain.

Hence his current predicament.

The obvious answer was to do nothing. Jonny trusted Duncs and logically knew that he would never betray that trust. On the other hand… the thought lingered in the back of his mind, and he thought of possible outcomes. 

Duncs could either take the scant (but all too revealing) information he was able to glean from the website and bury it deep deep down, never to be remembered again, or confront Jonny and… what. Tell him that this was wrong? Wasn’t allowed? Quit the team? Make  _ him _ quit the team?

Jonny took a fortifying bite of Duncs’ abandoned sandwich. He needed to pull himself together.


	2. Chapter 2

It turns out that there was a third scenario that Jonny had failed to anticipate, all the more terrifying in its unpredictability: confronting _Patrick_.

After morning practice, Jonny had thought he had escaped Scenario Two and was ready to get the hell out of Dodge. He had showered and was putting on his shoes when he heard Duncs’ voice. Not that he was listening out for it or anything. Only instead of awkwardly confronting Jonny about his Internet browsing habits, he had pulled Patrick aside and was now talking to him. Jonny couldn’t hear what he was saying over Stromer and Cat arguing about where they should go for lunch, but Patrick looked vaguely amused and seemed to be patiently enduring the interrogation about his bedroom activities.

_____________

Last night, Patrick had laughed so hard he cried as he listened to Jonny, face shoved into his pillow, miserably relive his encounter with Duncs.

“The panties,” he forced out between bouts of laughter, on his knees and doubled over in bed. Jonny let out a muffled groan into the pillow and flipped over to peer up at Patrick’s face, a little peeved at this flippant reaction to his harrowing ordeal. Residual embarrassment flared up inside of him and made him itchy.

“Peeks,” he said insistently, “This is serious. My integrity is on the line. _Your_ integrity is on the- _oomph_ _”_ At that, Patrick starfished onto Jonny and buried his face in his neck. 

“My integrity,” he cackled right into his ear. Jonny slung his arms around Patrick’s waist and sighed his exasperation at the ceiling. 

“Yes, your integrity. I’m the captain. If this were to get out to the higher ups, there would be rumors of… of _fraternization .”_

“Fraternization,” Patrick wheezed. “I’m pretty sure there are more than rumors at this point, the rookies couldn’t even look us in the eye at breakfast on their first roadie.” Jonny begrudgingly grunted in agreement. Who had put them in the room next to Patrick’s, anyways. Thin hotel walls and all. That didn’t take away from the current crisis, however, but when he tried explaining this to Patrick, it only took one look at his face, serious yet flushed in his earnestness, for Patrick to lose it once again. Jonny reluctantly allowed an amused smile to tug at his lips as he fondly entertained Patrick’s mirth.

Patrick wiped the tears from his eyes and smacked a kiss on the curve of Jonny’s smile, still chuckling a little as he settled more firmly against his body. “I love you, Jonathan Toews, even when you’re being stubborn and paranoid.”

Jonny rolled his eyes a little but didn’t stop his grin from widening at the warmth spreading through him. He tightened his grip around Patrick’s waist. “And I love you too, Peeksy, even when you’re not listening to me.” He felt Patrick’s smile against his neck.

“It’s Duncs. Just talk to him if you’re so worried about this getting out.”

As he reached over to turn off the light and settled down for the night, Jonny concluded that Patrick was probably right. 

_____________

While Patrick had seemingly tolerated Duncs’ inquisition, he was less open to entertaining Jonny’s cross-examination, and he only laughed at him when he pestered him all the way to the car.

“Did he mention them, Peeks?”

“Mention what?"

Patrick smirked at Jonny’s pointed expression. “Oh, the _panties ?”_

_“ Patrick,"_ Jonny hissed and furiously scanned the parking garage for any witnesses. Maybe Duncs was lurking around in the hopes of furthering his nefarious agenda, whatever it might be.

“Relax dude, all he did was try to hint at asking me if we were okay.” Patrick stopped in front of the car and gestured between themselves. “It wasn’t subtle. Maybe he thinks that lingerie is a last-ditch attempt to spice up a failing relationship or something. Besides that, just small talk, y’know, like what we were doing over the bye week.”

Jonny’s breath caught in his throat. “What did you tell him?” He was planning on surprising Patrick with a trip to Hawaii, as well as something else that he was too nervous to even think about, but Patrick was sometimes unnaturally good at sniffing out surprises.

“Oh, just that we were only staying in Chicago, and… wait did you mean about us?”

Jonny hadn’t, but he nodded anyway, relieved. Patrick softened at that and rounded the car to tuck himself into Jonny’s arms, squeezing tightly. 

“I think we’re doing very well.” He looked up at Jonny with a small smile that Jonny returned.

He kissed the top of Patrick’s curls. “I think so too.”


	3. Chapter 3

Kirby knew that something was definitely wrong. 

An episode of  _ Suits _ was open on his laptop in bed next to him, first muted then paused, as he focused on Duncs’ voice, muffled yet audible through the wall. The obvious stress in it was what had caught his attention in the first place. 

He had already been home when Seabs limped into the house on crutches, returning from the hospital post- hip surgery, with Duncs following closely behind. After getting more and  _ more _ pillows to satisfy Duncs’ mother-henning, Kirby had left him fussing by Seabs’ bedside to give them some privacy. His plan to settle down and binge television was soon derailed, however. 

“...so then I asked Kaner what he was doing over the bye week, and he said nothing. Nothing! Taze said that he was going to  _ Hawaii _ .”

He then heard Seabs’ voice, a little slurred from the pain meds. “Without Kaner?”

“That plus the lingerie. Lingerie! For _women_.”  
  
“Threesome?” 

A snort. “As if either one of them would let anyone else near the other. You know how they get.”

Kirby scrunched up his nose. He knew all too well—he packed earplugs for a reason now. 

But the thing was, he  _ did _ know them. They were no longer simply Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, players on a screen that he had idolized for so long. They were Kane and Taze (or Taze and Kane, depending on which said it). Sure, he got to experience Kaner’s magic with the puck and Taze’s incredible leadership as a captain firsthand. But he has also seen the times when Taze deflated only after checking in with everyone else after a particularly brutal loss. When Kaner could only slump mutely at his stall after the media left, having had to justify the mistakes of the whole team.

He knew that they were a package; wherever one was, the other was surely to follow. He knew from the way that Taze always found himself in the penalty box after Kaner was hit and the way that Kaner always scolded him for it through a suppressed smile between periods. He knew that they were it for each other. But above all, he knew that Kaner would never do anything to jeopardize that. And Taze definitely wouldn’t either.

Or so he had thought.

He felt as if his whole worldview was rearranged. If Taze was ordering lingerie for a woman—someone who wasn’t Kaner… 

And it wasn’t as if you would buy it for anyone other than a person who you were intimate with. The puzzle pieces were slowly coming together in Kirby’s head, and he didn’t like the picture that they were creating.

He took out his phone and called Adam.

“That does not sound like the Captain,” Adam remarked after Kirby had filled him in.

“I know, right? They always seem so…”

“Mushy?”

“Mushy,” Kirby grinned, but his amusement soon faded as he remembered what they were talking about. “What should we do?”

“Ask Duncs?”

Kirby thought of where he left Duncs, sitting vigil by Seabs’ side, armed with pain meds and clean bandages in case he spies so much as a twitch of discomfort. “I’d rather not. He’s really busy now, taking care of Seabs and all. Anything else?”

Adam hummed in consideration. “I might have an idea.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and so the plot thickens...


	4. Chapter 4

Patrick was right, even though Jonny wasn’t about to admit that to him.

He knew Duncs, had known him since he was a rookie and a fledgling captain, had even lived with him and Seabs. Duncs was privy to a lot of Jonny’s life, more than the majority of the team, maybe even more than Patrick. He remembered the times he would arrive home and wordlessly storm to his room only for Duncs to knock on his door. Seabs was good with hockey talk, but it was Duncs who dealt with Jonny feelings-wise, first when he was always left shaking with frustration after his latest argument with Patrick who  _ just wouldn’t listen _ , then when he was tentatively asking about his relationship with Seabs and how they dealt with their dynamic shifting from teammates to boyfriends to husbands.

Duncs had taken everything in stride, pulling Jonny in for a hug when Jonny managed to eke out the question of how he knew he was gay and not raising an eyebrow the first time Jonny pulled Patrick into the house with their hands firmly entwined, jaw set stubbornly as if anticipating a confrontation. 

If there was anyone who Jonny would trust to not tell anyone about what he saw, it would be Duncs. However, his focus seemed to be not on the lingerie itself, but rather what it meant for Jonny and Patrick’s relationship. With how much Jonny credited him with its creation in the first place, the least he could do for Duncs would be to explain everything and avoid any misunderstandings. He was a rational guy. 

Which is how he found himself at Duncs and Seabs’ house, sitting across from Duncs and preparing himself for the awkward explanation he knew he owed. He was somewhat appeased by the knowledge that Dach was off somewhere else, so only Duncs would be privy to this talk (Seabs being knocked out in the next room over).

“So, uh, about yesterday..” 

Duncs’ curious smile immediately became tight-lipped and Jonny was somewhat comforted by the knowledge that this conversation would be uncomfortable for the both of them. 

“Kaner told me that you talked to him? And you’re worried that the-” He wanted to disappear. “-the lingerie? I mean, we have a good relationship. Me and Kaner. And I don’t see why you’d think otherwise because of what we do… in private.”

Duncs’ brow furrowed. “Taze, I mean, don’t you… wait. So you’re—” He dragged a hand down his face and sagged into the couch, somehow looking relieved and rueful at the same time. “Oh thank fuck. I thought you were cheating on him.”

Jonny choked a little in surprise. “No, what the fuck.” His indignation must have shown on his face because Duncs gave him a Look and okay, he could see why he thought that in the first place. Jonny raised his hands in surrender. Suddenly, feeling bold, he said, “Uh, sort of the opposite, actually. I’m planning on… proposing? In Hawaii?”

“But Kaner said—”

“It’s supposed to be a surprise.” Jonny shouldn’t have slipped up and told Duncs about Hawaii to begin with, but here they were. 

“Oh.” 

Yeah. Oh. In any case, it was one thing to think about it by himself, all abstract thoughts and vague mental notes, another entirely to talk to someone and confirm its existence in the world. He felt freed by the admission, like a weight was lifted off of his chest. Adrenaline raced through his body. 

Duncs sat there, eyes wide as he processed the information before recovering with a grin. He leaned forward in excitement. “Wow man, congrats! Can I see the ring?”

Jonny cringed a little. The night he bought the plane tickets to Hawaii, he had to psych himself up for a while beforehand, and immediately after clicking ‘purchase’ he fled the house for a long run to calm his nerves. Patrick had called him crazy, but then again he was (blissfully) oblivious. Jonny rather saw it as keeping his sanity intact, no matter how frayed it might be. So it’s safe to say that—

“I haven’t even thought of the ring yet,” he admitted.

Surprisingly, Duncs, like the lifesaver he was, brightened and reached for his phone. “I can recommend you the jeweler who me and Brent bought ours from.”

Before Jonny could profusely thank him, their heads whipped around as a groan emanated from Duncs and Seabs’ bedroom. 

Duncs shot up and beelined towards the room, calling behind him, “Hey sorry, can we continue this later?”

“Yeah sure, but can we, uh. Forget about the whole..”

Duncs paused and half-turned around. “Yeah. Let’s do that.”

“Good. That’s- thank you.” Jonny awkwardly pushed himself off of the couch and quickly retreated to his car.

After he slammed the car door shut, he finally let himself relax and slumped over the steering wheel. At least everything was cleared up, even if it did cost him his dignity.

_____________

“Um, Captain?”

Jonny looked up from his beer to see Dach standing in front of him. His face was red, and based off of the way he was fidgeting, seemingly unable to keep eye contact, it wasn’t simply because of the celebratory drinks that half the team had bought the rookies. 

“Yeah, kid?” Jonny slid over to make room for him in the booth that they were at, gearing up to dole out whatever captainly advice was needed. They were celebrating at a random bar after a hard-earned win, but Jonny was looking forward to going back to their hotel and winding down with Patrick, who was at the bar ordering drinks with Shawzy. The routine that they slowly fell into was to watch game tape, gradually sliding down the bed until they ended up asleep, curled around each other. Sure, he would sometimes be woken up before their alarm, blinded by the morning sunlight streaming through the curtains they always forgot to shut, but Jonny wouldn’t change anything for the privilege of getting to feel Patrick’s warm body against his as Patrick slowly woke up, grumbling nonsense and burrowing further into Jonny’s arms. 

He was anticipating some questions about the game, maybe some clarification for the new strategies that they had implemented, or—

“How-how do you know if you’re… inlovewithsomeone.” Dach ducked his head and mumbled the last part, the words running into each other, but Jonny heard it as clearly as if he had shouted over the bar’s deafening music. He paused, at a loss for words for how unexpected this was.

Dach must have noticed, as he tensed next to him and backpedaled nervously. “You don’t have to… I mean, just... nevermind.”

Jonny looked at his shoulders, hunched forward with his arms tightly crossed in front of him, and his gaze, drilling a hole into the table, and sighed. What the hell. If Dach could swallow his nerves and ask for his advice, he would be a proper adult and give it to him (for this was definitely Adult Advice and not Captain Advice), no matter how far out of left field this was.

“Well, if you love a person, you feel your best around them. Not that you’re not complete without them, because you’re your own person.” That was important. “But they make you a better person.” Jonny’s eyes drifted over to where Patrick was laughing at something Shawzy said, his smile radiant. Jonny’s heart felt fit to burst with love for him. “You would do anything for them.”

He thought of the jeweler’s phone number currently burning a hole in his contacts list. Imagined getting down on one knee and lifting his eyes to meet Patrick’s, the ring box raised in supplication. “Don’t be afraid to feel this way. It can be scary, but so, so worth it.”

“Is that how you feel with Kaner?”   
  
He turned back to Dach, who, albeit still a little red-faced, had been brave enough to unglue his gaze from the table and meet Jonny’s eyes. 

Jonny smiled. “I guess I do.”

He remembered his struggle regarding coming to terms with his feelings for Patrick, a long process that included more fights than he could count and insults that they both wished they could take back. If his advice could help Dach avoid all of that, well, he was happy to help.

As Dach exited the booth after a rushed thank you, back to his former embarrassment, Jonny recalled fleeing his own bedroom after a similar talk with Duncs and grinned a little. 

Oh, how the tables have turned.


	5. Chapter 5

Everything was going perfectly to plan.

Kirby was stuck with receiving the uncomfortable Feelings Talk from Taze, gathering intel about Kaner. See, Tazer thought that he was helping Kirby with his feelings while Kirby was actually looking into  _ his _ feelings. Genius. He hurried away from Taze and the sappy-fond looks he kept on sending Kaner’s way, and jeez, how was he managing to pull off that level of smitten. As Kirby wound through the crowds on the dance floor, he felt a creeping sense of doubt. He had seen that cell phone commercial, he knew that Taze couldn’t act for shit. Kaner either, for that matter. What if this was all some big prank or something? He slid into the seat next to Adam and sighed, glad to have escaped  _ that _ awkward talk.

“And?” Adam prompted eagerly.

“I don’t know, man, he seems pretty in love.” Which would normally be a positive thing. “It just doesn’t fit in with everything—” Adam elbowed Kirby, which would normally lead to a rough shove in reciprocation, except he followed Adam’s gaze to see Taze exiting the bar through a back door, phone in hand. Suspiciously alone.

Adam blurted out, “ _ Quickly _ ,” and they both scrambled out of their chairs and impatiently bulldozed through the crowd. Kirby yanked Adam back by his shirt collar just in time to stop him from bursting through the door and giving up the whole ‘covert’ part of their covert operation, insead shouldering him aside to inch the door open and peek out. Taze’s back was turned to them. He quietly pushed the door open just enough so that they were able to slip through, creep along the wall, and hunker down around the corner of the building unnoticed. Taze’s voice filtered back to them, quiet but unmistakable over the muffled music coming from the bar.

“—definitely the perfect size.”

_ The lingerie. _

A pause. “Yeah, I really am, he doesn’t know anything.” 

Tazer laughed a little nervously (and a little guiltily, in Kirby’s opinion). “Definitely. I hope he won’t find out. Until it’s time.”

Kirby shared a loaded Look with Adam. The fucker. They knew exactly what he was talking about, the right time to dump Kaner for whatever homewrecker was on the other end of the line. And here Kirby was, fully prepared to buy into Tazer’s admittedly-believable affection for Kaner. How blind he had been. But now, he and Adam knew the truth  _ and _ had this firsthand proof that was, frankly, ironclad— nay,  _ indestructible _ .

“Hey, thank you so much for this, especially this late at night.”

They could hear a tinny, unmistakably female, voice laugh through the phone. 

“Well, two days from now is good with me, there’s only practice in the morning,” Tazer continues. “I’m looking forward to ironing out the details more, but this is a good starting place. I’ll text you later to set something up.”

All three of them jumped — Kirby, Adam, and especially Tazer — as the bar’s music suddenly got louder. Someone had opened the door, and Tazer quickly shoved his phone in his pocket. Around the corner, Kirby and Adam pressed themselves closer to the wall.

“Hey babe, what are you doing out here?” 

It was Kaner. Kaner, who didn’t know that his boyfriend’s  _ mistress _ was still connected to the  _ active call _ in Tazer’s pocket.

Taze shrugged and totally lied straight to his face. “Just a business call.”

And wow, okay. He was more of a stone cold dude than they had thought. Kirby was gearing up to pop around the corner and loudly call Tazer out on his bullshit, outraged on Kaner’s behalf, but it took only one look at his face for Adam to reach over, slap his hand over Kirby’s mouth, and hiss, “ _The_ _plan._ ” Right. The plan. Intel then evidence. And only then the exposing. 

Wait— _ the evidence. _

They stayed frozen until the door to the bar fully closed behind Kaner and Tazer, and when it did, Kirby pushed Adam’s hand off of his mouth and groaned in frustration. “The evidence. We didn’t record  _ anything _ .” Adam paused as Kirby’s words fully registered and cursed.

Indestructible plan his ass.

_____________

When his phone rang and displayed the name of Duncs’ jeweler, Jonny jumped and looked around the bar for his teammates. After nobody gave him a second look, he quickly slipped out of the bar through a back exit before answering the call.

“Hello?”

“Is this Jonathan Toews?”

Jonny turned away from the bar to block the thumping music as much as he could. “Yes, this is he.”

“Great!” The woman said. “My name is Sandy Daneshgar and I work for Wedding Bands and Co. Duncan Keith informed me that you would be needing help with planning an engagement ring?”

Relieved, Jonny answered, “Yeah I, uh, don’t really know anything about rings?”

“That’s what I’m here for,” Sandy laughed. “Let’s start with the basics. Would you like a thin or thick ring?”

Jonny pictured Patrick’s hands and what would look best, then got distracted thinking about a ring around Patrick’s finger,  _ Jonny’s _ ring. Because he was going to propose to him. This was actually happening.

“Mr. Toews?”

He swallowed a couple times, his mouth suddenly dry. “Uh, sorry. You can call me Jonathan. I think thick? Would be nice.”

She hummed approvingly. “Thick rings are good for people who have hands-on jobs.” Jonny could hear the scribbling of a pen on paper. “Would you happen to know your significant other’s ring size?”

This, he actually did, from Patrick’s Cup rings. “Yeah, a size 10 is definitely the perfect size.”

“Perfect. This is just the first draft and everything can be changed later on in the process, but it’s good so far! You must be excited to propose.”

Excited and terrified, more like. “Yeah, I really am. He doesn’t know anything.”

Sandy’s voice grew jokingly conspiratorial. “Let’s keep this under wraps, then, shall we?”

Jonny huffed out a laugh. “Definitely. I hope he won’t find out. Until it’s time.” They let that sentiment sit there for a while, heavy with implication, before he continued. 

“Hey, thank you so much for this, especially this late at night.” It was hours after the game had ended, way past the hours that Jonny would have thought a jeweler kept.

Sandy laughed. “Well, I’m somewhat of an insomniac and work whenever I can’t sleep. I figured you’d be awake too. So when is a good time to set up an appointment?”

“Well, two days from now is good with me, there’s only practice in the morning,” Jonny said. “I’m looking forward to ironing out the details more, but this is a good starting place. I’ll text you later to set something up.” The task of planning the perfect ring for Patrick was daunting, and he was more than happy to be walked through the entire process.

Suddenly, he heard the bar’s music get louder as someone opened the door, and he quickly tucked his phone in his pocket.

“Hey babe, what are you doing out here?” Jonny froze at Patrick’s voice and turned around, trying to act natural. He shrugged.

“Just a business call.” He heard the quiet beep of the phone call ending in his pocket, Sandy probably having heard the interruption and making her exit.

Patrick grinned and held out his hand until Jonny took it and allowed himself to be pulled back inside the bar. “You’re supposed to be celebrating the win, Captain.”

Jonny smiled helplessly back and tightened his grip on Patrick’s hand. “I’d rather be celebrating alone together.”

“Game tape?”

“Game tape.” 

The  _ and cuddles _ is implied. Obviously

As Patrick towed Jonny behind him towards the front of the bar, he glanced behind him to smile softly at Jonny. And Jonny knew deep down, as he watched the bar’s neon lights bounce across Patrick’s face, that from the first time they ever met, from the first time they found each other’s arms after a goal, that he was gone on Patrick Kane. The man he was going to marry. 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you all for being patient as i slowly but surely finish writing this! only one or two more chapters to go :)

As soon as Jonny pushed open his hotel room door, he made a beeline for the bed and faceplanted into the middle of it with a deep sigh that left him melting into the mattress. He rolled around to see Patrick shake his head fondly at his theatrics and start to change.

“What’s got your panties in a twist?” He grinned at the look Jonny leveled at him.

Jonny sighed and buried his face into the mattress again. “Tired,” he grumbled through a mouthful of blankets. Which may be a little melodramatic, but sue him. Between the Hawks winning today’s game by the skin of their teeth, dealing with Kirby’s sudden Feelings crisis, planning the perfect wedding ring for Patrick, and having to keep everything a secret, he was utterly exhausted.

Patrick snorted, bodily rolling Jonny over to one side of the bed so he could slip under the covers on the other side, remote in hand. Game tape was primed and waiting to be analyzed on the television screen—the only missing element was Jonny, who wasn’t planning on moving anytime soon. “Baby.”

“Yes?” Jonny tried to lift his heavy head to look at Patrick but gave up and thunked back down again.

“No, I’m calling you a baby. Baby. Now get changed so we can cuddle.”

Jonny grunted and rolled over to watch Patrick fluff up his pillow. He  _ did _ look pretty comfy, all bundled up under the blankets with an open space next to him that Jonny would fit perfectly into. Standing up and taking off his clothes would probably be more efficient, but he didn’t particularly feel like leaving the bed. Kicking off his shoes and wiggling out of everything but his boxers without getting up took some effort and probably made him look like a fish flopping around on the deck, but soon Jonny had snuggled his way up to Patrick’s side. 

“I’m not going to last long,” he yawned. Patrick said nothing, instead threading his fingers through Jonny’s hair and guiding his head down to rest on his chest. 

Jonny dozed off, the low murmur of the television and the gentle scratching of Patrick’s fingers through his hair a lethal combination. He doesn’t know how long he drifted, but before long Patrick took his hand out of Jonny’s hair, eliciting an unintelligible protest.

"Jonny?" 

Jonny stirred, mind still hazy with sleep. "Hm?"

"Who were you talking to on the phone outside the bar?"

It was as effective as a bucket of ice water. Jonny stiffened, and there was no way that Patrick, whose side he was plastered to, didn't feel it. Maybe if Jonny ignored him, Patrick would give up and fall asleep. He resolutely ignored the voice in the back of his head shrieking at him to book it.

Jonny cleared his throat and squinted at the bright television screen, willing his voice to be ultra-casual. "Nice save by Crow, eh?"

“Jonathan.” Patrick’s hand was back in Jonny’s hair, this time forcing Jonny to tilt his head up and meet Patrick’s eyes. 

He squirmed, caught in Patrick’s gaze. “Peeks, I told you it was just a business call.”

“Don’t ‘Peeks’ me.” _ Oh shit. _ “What business would call you at one o’clock in the morning.”

Jonny could practically feel his heart beating out of his chest. He scrambled around for something, anything, to get Patrick off his case, and ended up blurting out a half-truth.

“It’s a surprise, uh, for the bye week.”

Patrick’s eyes widened in surprise, and Jonny patted himself on the back for having been able to keep it a secret for this long. It was probably inevitable that the cat would be let out of the bag. Patrick didn’t let much past him, on and off the ice.

“Oh wow, you really managed to keep this one quiet, huh?”

“Spoilsport. Would have stayed quiet if you didn’t stick your nose into everything.” Jonny poked Patrick’s chest. 

Patrick only grinned unrepentantly at him. “So what weather should I pack for?”

“Peeks,” Jonny complained, “I’m not ruining it even more. Let  _ something _ stay a surprise.”

Patrick’s Cheshire cat grin widened, and Jonny side-eyed him warily. “What.”

“What do you mean, what?”

“I’m just thinking,” Patrick started delicately, “about what it would take for you to spill the beans.”

“‘Spill the beans?’ What are you, ninety?” Jonny was laughing even as Patrick stretched over to the nightstand to grab the remote and pause the television, but suddenly, something caught his eye—shining dully in the light of the frozen television, a strip of black lace, exposed as Patrick’s shirt rode up. 

He choked on his spit. “Peeks...”

“Hmm?” Patrick looked over at him innocently, a sly smile curling the edges of his lips.

Jonny could only flap his mouth open and shut, at a loss for words, and Patrick took the opportunity to roll over and straddle his thighs.

“You gonna tell me where we’re going?” he purred. Jonny only slid his hands under Patrick’s shirt and groaned as his fingertips brushed lace.

“Not a chance, Peeks.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes i did chicken out of writing smut, what of it

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! :)
> 
> Find me on [tumblr](https://jbone1988.tumblr.com/)!


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